Straight Talk vs Consumer Cellular: Who Should You Go With?

Deciding to switch cell phone carriers isn’t an easy decision, especially with so many options out there nowadays. You’ve got your choice between prepaid and postpaid services along with thousands of tiers of different phone plans offering you a myriad of benefits that will entice you to sign up. 

As a potential customer that can get overwhelming pretty fast, and when you finally do whittle down your options to two you’ve got some pros and cons to suss out. Luckily you’re in the right place for exactly that: comparing and contrasting two popular providers on everything important, and in the ring today is Straight Talk vs Consumer Cellular.

These two MVNOs have been around for a while and offer plenty to those who are in the market. We will be going over what you can expect from each and giving you our verdict at the end on which you should choose based on their coverage, plans, and bonuses. So let’s get started!

• Quick Overview: Straight Talk and Consumer Cellular
• What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers
• How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features
• The Verdict

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Before we go over what the coverage and phone plans look like from each provider we should first talk about the two companies as a whole, so you can get an inside scoop on both to see what they are like.

-> Straight Talk Wireless

We mentioned the term “MVNO” in the intro and we wanted to explain what that was for those who may not know before we talk about Straight Talk and Consumer Cellular as they are both MVNOs. MVNO stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator and it is a term used to describe smaller cell phone carriers that don’t own their own cell towers/infrastructure. Instead they will partner with providers that do own their own cell towers, essentially “buy in bulk” data packages, and sell to potential customers at more budget-friendly rates. You get to be on the same network as those who are signed up directly through those big names like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile, but at rates that won’t cause some limited spending on your next shopping trip.

A REALLY Helpful Tip

If it’s less expensive, why doesn’t everyone sign up for a MVNO?

Although you’re saving money, you aren’t getting the coverage directly from the source. Instead it is basically “funneled through” and that can cause users to be subject to data deprioritization. Along with that you can be more likely to have a smaller data cap and have to deal with throttling.

What is data deprioritization?

Data deprioritization is “the temporary slowing of data speeds for certain customers in order to give priority to other customers.” Which means that those who are direct customers of the parent company- (in Straight Talk’s case it’s Verizon with helping hands from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint- we will go over that in our “Coverage” section) will get network priority when you’re in a high traffic area or when there’s network congestion.

What is data throttling?

Throttling is “the dramatic slowing of your data speeds to the point that it becomes almost unusable.” This will happen when you go over a certain number of gigabytes of data for the month, also known as your “data cap.” You’ll see this number displayed in small text on the phone’s plan or at the bottom of the website on the plans tab, but don’t worry your normal data speeds will resume at the start of your next billing cycle.

Straight Talk Wireless has a wide range of phone plans with varying amounts of data, calls, texts, and benefits. You can get your hands on a bare-bones plan that is perfect for those who just need a cell phone to call, text, and occasionally look up the roadmap to your next destination. Or you can go a little bit more heavy and get a plan that’s good for the average phone user who’s on their phone for some time, scrolling through the odd social media rabbit hole, but isn’t totally glued in.

-> Consumer Cellular

You might have seen the Consumer Cellular “Freedom Calls” commercials with Ted Danson of Cheers and The Good Place fame in the past year. They are known for their list of “free” things you get when you sign up including: free activation, free of contracts, free of hidden fees, and free of risks. They want to make it clear that you aren’t tied down to them at all and aren’t beholden to any sketchy behind the scenes “gotchas” which run rampant through a lot of other companies.

Instead of the vast, and maybe overwhelming, plan options Straight Talk Wireless has, Consumer Cellular keeps it simple with four phone plans- (which, don’t worry, we will go over in detail soon). They also introduce customers to their “SmartFlex” system which is a program when you’re using your data and not connected to wifi, Consumer Cellular will “send you free usage alerts via text and/or email when you reach 50% or 75% of your plan's monthly data limit.” And if you go over that limit they will “flex” you up to the next data plan so your data doesn’t slow down for as little as $5/ a month. There’s no overage fees and you can opt out of this program at any time- maintaining their “freedom” advertisement.

What the Coverage Looks Like from Both Providers

Very briefly we said Straight Talk Wireless uses Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint to provide coverage to customers and that in itself is a bit unusual for a MVNO as normally it’s only one provider working with another. For Straight Talk, they currently “share networks with the best four carriers.” (For those wondering about Sprint, they were acquired by T-Mobile in 2020 they still provide coverage through their cell towers that were established before the merge). 

Right off the bat that sounds pretty intriguing, but we do want to mention that things could potentially change as Straight Talk Wireless is a brand of TracFone Wireless, Inc. and TracFone was bought by Verizon officially back in 2021 which means that there’s a pretty good chance that Straight Talk might end up just under the Verizon umbrella only as Verizon has stated they want TracFone customers to merge under Verizon and Straight Talk Wireless is a subsidiary of TracFone. 

In the races of network connectivity and coverage, Verizon has been advertised, and rightly so, as the “nation-wide leader” in LTE coverage. Spanning over 70% of the country you can expect customers in more rural areas to be happy getting a level of coverage they might not have been used to. And although they are a bit behind in the 5G race, their performance packs quite a punch.

Every wireless carrier has a “Coverage Map” which is a map detailing their coverage so potential customers can see how far their network extends to. For Straight Talk Wireless they have you provide your ZIP code and phone model so you can get more accurate results. For example, this is what New York with the iPhone 15 128GB’s coverage looks like:

Straight Talk’s coverage is in the United States only- (not pictured is parts of Hawaii and Alaska which are also covered). You can see your own location and phone model’s coverage under Straight Talk by looking at their coverage map here.

-> Consumer Cellular

In the past Consumer Cellular has used multiple networks to provide their customers with coverage but as of 2024 they are now moving under AT&T. AT&T is considered to be a strong middle ground in the wireless world. They don’t have the biggest rural outreach like Verizon does, but they are improved from T-Mobile. And they might not have T-Mobile’s 5G reach, but their 5G is more readily available compared to Verizon’s. You’re going to get a good experience with AT&T’s coverage as they are an overall solid network.

Here’s a look at Consumer Cellular’s coverage map:

As you can see, Consumer Cellular covers areas in the United States, along with parts of Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. You can take a closer look at your area and see if their “5G+ venues” (which is an elevated 5G technology slowly being rolled out) is available in your area by looking at their coverage map in full here.

How the Plans Compare: From Price to Features

Let's talk about phone plans, this is where we really get into the good stuff as this is the determining factor for many on whether they want to sign up for a particular service or not. Firstly, we have Straight Talk Wireless and we’ll be looking at their most popular options and then going to their additional plans next:

And then we have variations of those plans:

For a seemingly basic MVNO, Straight Talk Wireless has got its hands in some pretty cool stuff like the Walmart+ Membership which includes free delivery from the store, mobile scan and go, and more. There’s also cloud storage available, international calls, and hotspot usage.

Consumer Cellular has four plans to choose from for up to four lines:

One thing that’s mentioned not outwardly but when you go to check out is that these prices we listed above do not include additional taxes and fees. Though plans also include a $5 monthly credit for participation in AutoPay and E-Billing which is cool if you want to save a few extra dollars per month. These plans offer the user basic cell phone needs and not a lot more. Overall they are pretty bare bones and if that’s what you’re looking for then you’ve got your new provider lined up right here.

The Verdict

We have all the coverage information and phone plan information, now is the time to give our verdict on Straight Talk vs Consumer Cellular. Overall these plans are great for the phone user who isn’t on their phone all the time, each giving you the necessities you need to stay connected to your friends and family all while not paying the big bucks for stuff you won’t end up using anyway.

We think you get more bang for your buck with Straight Talk Wireless, and that includes their Walmart+ Membership, cloud storage, international, and hotspot benefits. Both Straight Talk’s and Consumer Cellular’s prices are pretty similar so it makes sense to go for the carrier that gets you just a bit more rather than the one that gives you only the basics. Of course if you’re only looking for the simplest phone plan then Consumer Cellular isn’t a bad way to go- we just prefer Straight Talk Wireless in this instance.

Straight Talk Wireless is our pick for today’s match up.

And if you want to compare and contrast Straight Talk and Consumer Cellular to over 1,200 other phone plans so you know you’re getting the service that’s right for you, then make sure to check out the REALLY compare page which allows you to look at pricing, coverage, what phone plans are available, current deals and steals, and how you can make the most of your potential phone bill.